We arrived yesterday morning, after a mostly smooth flight from Frankfurt. Bill is here on business, while I’m tagging along. So far, it’s been warm and crowded, but I did get some very nice photos of the Danube River last night, along with some shots of some of the sights.
At one point, an older couple randomly stopped in the street in front of the famous (and very beautiful) Parliament building and started tongue kissing. I blurted out, “Gawd! That was totally for us, and not for them…” Hello… it’s a government building! Why do you need to swap spit in front of it?
At another point, some obnoxious ass was peeling out in front of everyone with his car. I said, “Someone has a very small penis.” A passer by heard me say that and cracked up. By the way, it’s hard not to be overheard here. There are a lot of people in Budapest right now. Maybe that’s why the hotels were so expensive.
We had lunch and dinner, and are staying in a hotel that, frankly, I wouldn’t have booked. But when you’re staying places on the company dime, you don’t always get a choice. Anyway, Budapest is still a beautiful city. I expect I’ll experience some things… Eventually, I’ll go across the river and get some photos of the Parliament building from a distance. That will replace the one I took in 2009, with an inferior camera.
Anyway… it’s always nice to get away for a few days. We’ll be here until Saturday, so there will be more pictures and stories to come. And then, I will get to work on booking us a fabulous hotel in Zurich, because I get to tag along on Bill’s next trip there, too. That happens in early October.
Several months ago, Bill told me he wanted to spend about a week in Küsnacht, Switzerland, a suburb of Zürich. He hoped to attend a summer intensive course at the C.G. Jung Institute, a learning installation founded in 1948, and centered around the study of Jungian analytical psychology.
I knew this was coming, because Bill had been talking about wanting to take this summer course for years. We first came to Zürich in the summer of 2021, and Bill and I visited C.G. Jung’s house, on the banks of Lake Zürich. Bill also started speaking to a Jungian therapist that year. The work he’s done with the analyst over the past four years has done wonders for his mental and emotional well-being. He thinks he might have a knack for Jungian psychology. He definitely has an interest in it.
Naturally, I agreed that it would be a good thing for Bill to go to the Jung Institute. Once we had the dogs booked in their usual Hundepension, I set about looking for a place for us to stay for the week. We had specific needs for our lodging. I wanted it to be in a place where it would be somewhat easy for me to get around and see and do things. It needed to be near a tram station, so Bill could easily get to the Institute. We planned to drive our car, so the place needed parking. And I hoped for air conditioning, which even in “spendy Switzerland” isn’t always a given.
I was about to spend about $10k to book a regular hotel room on Expedia.com, when I noticed a listing for a place called Apart-Hotel Hugenschmidt. On Expedia, the Apart-Hotel Hugenschmidt had no availability for our dates. Under normal circumstances, that might have been the end of my curiosity and I would have kept looking. But then I decided to check Booking.com, as sometimes they have things available that Expedia doesn’t. On that site, I could book a one room suite at the Apart-Hotel, which included a kitchenette and a living room– better for a week than a hotel room. The price was also roughly one-third of what I was about to pay for the hotel, and there was parking available, and air conditioning.
We booked the Apart-Hotel Hugenschmidt, and then, just to make sure all was well, Bill called them to confirm that booking and reserve a parking spot. It was a good thing we confirmed the parking, as the hotel, which first opened in 1969, only has two spaces! Besides small apartments, the Apart-Hotel Hugenschmidt also offers regular hotel rooms of varying luxuriousness. A person could opt for a spacious two bedroom place, or get a single economy room with a shared toilet in the corridor. Although shared toilets used to be somewhat common in European hotels, I haven’t seen a place with a communal toilet in years!
With that settled, we looked forward to our third trip to Switzerland this year. Regular readers might recall that we went to Basel, Switzerland in January of this year, just to get away over the MLK weekend. We stopped in Villa Morcote, Switzerland on the way to Italy in March. And now, we’ve been to Zürich– specifically, the Seefeld quarter of the Mühlebach district.
Our trip began on June 28th and would end on July 6th. For me, it would resemble business trips on which I have accompanied Bill. When I go places with him on business trips, I usually end up doing a lot of loitering and picture taking while he tends to his work. This trip was not for his current job, but it could end up leading him to the work he’ll do in the future. As I mentioned up post, Bill has a real knack for psychology. I think of him as a healer. He’s an unusually kind, sensitive, empathic, and introspective person. Analysis has given him insight into who he is, and that has given him much needed peace.
As usual, Noyzi was ready to go!
On the morning of Saturday, June 28th, Bill took the dogs to the Hundepension, while I packed my bags. Then, we set off for Zürich. The GPS sent us down the familiar way to Stuttgart, where we used to live. Although we have lived in Wiesbaden since late 2018, we still go to Stuttgart to see our dentist and sometimes Bill goes there for business. And yet, even though we continue to visit, I’m always shocked by how much has been built since we left. I was especially surprised as we drove through Sindelfingen on A-81, a road Bill used to take every day to get to his job. There’s a whole shitload of construction going on there!
Below are some photos from the drive:
Construction in Pforzheim.The Thyssen test elevator facility, outside of Rottweil. We visited there in 2018, and went to the top of the tower!
On the way to Switzerland, we stopped a rest area to get lunch and enjoy a pee break. It was nothing special, and we’d been there before. I took a couple of photos, anyway…
Seelachs and chips… Could have been better.
The Apart-Hotel Hugenschmidt is a family run business. It doesn’t have a regular front desk. We were asked to let them know when we were going to arrive, so someone would be there to meet us. Bill told them we’d get there between 5:00-6:00 PM. We were well on our way to making the time as we approached the Swiss border. An older gentleman in a Swiss Polizei uniform looked like he was flagging us down, so Bill stopped and opened his window.
The cop said, “Do you want to go to Switzerland?”
Bill said we did.
The cop said, “On holiday?”
Again, yes…
“Bye!” the cop said.
I guess he didn’t actually want to talk to us, after all. Too bad all borders aren’t that easy and uncomplicated.
We got to Zürich at about 5:45 PM. It was sunny and hot, and I noticed a lot of people in bathing suits, carrying pool toys and such. I had come prepared to enjoy the lake. I had a bunch of towels and two bathing suits in my bag, and I envisioned jumping in the water. I thought maybe we’d go to one of the public beaches… and I’d totally forgotten that the hotel was actually in Zürich, rather than closer to Küsnacht.
It took a few minutes to navigate through the busy city, and then once we found the right street, the turn off was so sudden that Bill missed it. Fortunately, the next street took us straight to Karlstrasse 5. Bill nervously pulled into a parking lot across from the hotel for an apartment building, where all the parking spots are taken by the residents. The proprietor was there, waiting for us, and she unlocked the gate behind which our car would be for the week. Bill pulled into the tight space, knowing that we were destined to be blocked in. 😉
After we parked, we signed into the hotel, picked up our keys, and got a tour of our new digs for the week.
By the time we were checked in, it was past six o’clock. And although there are several good restaurants near the Apart-Hotel Hugenschmidt, Bill and I were both pretty tired from the drive. We decided to visit one of the two COOP grocery stores near the apartment to pick up essentials, then ordered pizza from an outfit called Pimp Your Pizza. We got Pizza Hawaii and Pizza Missouri… ordering large, so there would be leftovers. There were leftovers, alright! That pizza lasted almost the whole week! But it was surprisingly good, especially on the first night!
We watched German dubbed American movies on TV, while we enjoyed the pizza and Swiss beer. Then we went to bed. The bedroom in our suite had a fan, which was helpful, but not as good as air conditioning would have been. The unit just has one air conditioner, and it’s in the living room. It doesn’t cool off the whole apartment. Most of the year, this wouldn’t be a problem, but we happened to visit during a heatwave.
Ah well…
The next day, we discovered the lake through a new perspective. Stay turned for the next post for that!
We got back from beautiful Zürich, Switzerland this afternoon, after eight nights. On the whole, we had a very nice time. Bill spent most of the time taking seminars at the C.G. Jung Institute in Küsnacht, a lovely suburb of the city. I spent most of my week hanging around and gazing at Lake Zürich. One day, I went to the botanical gardens, affiliated with the University of Zürich.
The weather was hot and sunny, and we were fortunate to spend the time at an apartment-hotel that had an air conditioning unit. It wasn’t the most effective air conditioner in the world, but it was better than nothing. The apartment was reasonably priced for Zürich, although for eight nights, it cost almost as much as renting our whole house for a month! But the place also had a couple of parking spots behind a locked gate, so we were able to park our car there all week… though we couldn’t move the car without having the car parked behind us moved. It was no problem, anyway. The place where we stayed was right by a very busy tram line that was perfect for getting Bill to and from the Institute.
I will be writing a full series on this trip, but at this point, I’m a little tired and not wanting to dive in just yet. I’m glad to be home, safe and sound. Although we weren’t able to bring home any interesting souvenirs or goodies from the COOP (grocery store), I did get a lot of beautiful photos, especially of the lake. I wish I’d had a chance to go swimming, but we did do a 4.5 hour cruise yesterday. The weather was perfect! We even got a slight break from the heat.
Bill found his time at the Institute stimulating and fulfilling; he finally got to meet his analyst, Max, in person for the first time in the four years they’ve been working together. I think he’d like to matriculate there and possibly earn certification. Of course, we don’t know what’s going to happen to his job… but then, that would be true of any job, really. Above are a few photos from the Institute. I got to attend the farewell ceremony with Bill.
I’ve missed Noyzi and Charlie, and my guitars. I’ve missed making music, and sitting at my desktop, which is so much easier to write blog posts on than my laptop is. I’ve even missed the washing machine and our shitty mattress, which so badly needs to be replaced.
But the one thing I’ve missed more than anything is peace and quiet. The apartment where we stayed was fairly noisy, mainly because of the people in the apartment above us. They were incredibly loud. From a screaming baby at 6:00 AM to heavy thuds on their floor/our ceiling, to crashes and booms when things got dropped, to the pitter patter of little feet running around, it was very annoying. And so, for the fact that no one lives in a unit above us, I am so glad to be home in Germany!
I don’t know how long this series will take. We did have some notable things happen, that I want to write about. However, this trip was not heavy on activities or even eating in restaurants. We ate a lot of meals in the apartment. So, even though we were gone for eight nights, I don’t think this will be a long series to wade through.
Hope you’ll join me for the first post, which will probably appear tomorrow.
I will be writing a series about this trip, but I feel like dumping some photos on my travel blog, just to keep it current. I spent a couple of hours walking yesterday, and watched people by the lake for awhile. This city certainly has an energy.
We came to Zurich for the first time in 2021. It was a different experience, because we stayed in a different part of town. This time, we’re near Lake Zurich, and people are definitely taking advantage of the lake, especially given how hot it is!
Here are a few pictures of what I’ve seen so far…
Of course, with all of this natural beauty comes high prices and lots of people… and with people comes trash. I am enjoying being in Zurich, and especially watching Bill enjoy his course, but I don’t know that I’d want to live here… or, at least I’d rather not live in the city. It’s too loud! But it is a nice change of pace for a short time.
I’m not sure what I’ll do today… maybe more of what I did yesterday, just walking around and people watching while I wait for Bill to come back from his classes. He looked so cute this morning, wearing his backpack. All he needed was a ball cap and a paper sack lunch!
I didn’t write any travel posts over the weekend, because Bill got home from Stavanger, Norway on Saturday afternoon, and I spent yesterday hanging out with him. We are slowly catching up with some of the stuff that went undone while he was gone. He’s going to collect our mail today and maybe drop by the commissary to get a few things. I may decide to make a video and take care of some household chores that need attention. Or maybe not.
At the moment, we’re planning a trip to Zurich, Switzerland for late June/early July. We went there in 2021, and visited Carl Jung’s house. Now Bill wants to go again, so he can take some courses at the Jung Institute. I will go with him, although I won’t be taking any classes. Maybe I’ll go on a tour or something… or just get some reading done while I enjoy views of Lake Zurich. Last time we were there, it was during the pandemic. This seems to be our year to visit Switzerland. We’ve already been there twice so far in 2025.
Bill did some good work in Norway. I think it was a successful trip for him. He enjoyed Stavanger, too, and wants to visit there for recreational purposes. I wouldn’t mind that. Hopefully, it will be within the realm of the possible, but with all that’s going on right now, who knows?
As you can see, Charlie was very happy to see Bill. I took a few more photos of their reunion, along with a video… And Bill also enjoyed the lasagna I made the other day. I used to be a pretty damned good cook.
The dogs are so glad to see Bill again! So am I!
Tomorrow, we’ll have newly framed art to hang. Several pieces are works we’ve had for years, but one piece is new. I’m still trying to decide where to hang it. Maybe I’ll put it in Noyzi’s room. 😉 We’d pick up the art today, but like many businesses in Europe, Monday is the art gallery’s “Ruhetag” (quiet/free day). When my parents ran their framing and needlework business, they also closed on Mondays. But they were open until the early afternoon on Saturdays. Same with the art gallery in Wiesbaden.
Anyway… that about does it for this post. Not too much went on in the past week, other than the usual angst and spending. Maybe there will be more to report during this year’s Holy Week. I’m sure in the mood for a miracle or two, aren’t you?
We woke to a foggy morning, which made us less interested in going to a wine tasting in the nearby hamlet of Hofheim. We did need to go out, though… or really, I needed to go out. So we decided to stop by a Hofheim burger joint called Beef ‘n Beer, which is right next to a mall called the Chinon Center. Two hours parking there cost one euro!
The restaurant’s Web site tells me that there are two locations, the one in Hofheim, and one in Kelkheim, which is a place I have yet to visit. With a name like Beef ‘n Beer, we were thinking maybe they’d have a list of beers to try, but alas, the beer selection was not that impressive or expansive. However, the restaurant doesn’t take an afternoon pause, has a full bar, and offers a variety of salads, sandwiches, burgers, and main dishes.
We ended up having to search for parking, because a lot of people were out today. We managed to snag a spot on the top level of the parking garage at the Chinon Center, then it was easy to walk to the restaurant. An attractive waitress invited us to sit anywhere we wanted. She didn’t speak English to us, but I did hear her speak perfect English to another patron. I’m not sure he was American, either. He could have been from Sweden, for all I know!
I ended up ordering an Avocado Burger, which was a burger with bacon, cheese, onions, lettuce and avocado slices. Bill had The Original Australian, which was a sandwich on a sub roll with Argentinian beef strips, fried onions, tomatoes, pickles, and lettuce. Both sandwiches came with steak fries and cole slaw.
The Avocado Burger was good, but I couldn’t finish it. It also had a molded patty, which I don’t usually like the texture of, though it wasn’t too off putting at Beef ‘n Beer. Bill loved his sandwich. I think I might order that next time, or come hungrier and try one of the main courses. They have steaks, salmon, dorade, and even spare ribs.
I enjoyed the chilled out ambiance in the restaurant, which included comfortable bench seating and cool music. It’s also a dog friendly place. One guy brought his two dogs with him, and I almost tripped over his sweet black Labrador as we entered the place. In warmer months, there’s a small Biergarten area, too. Bill and I both commented that we expected more of a beer selection, but they had stuff we were happy to drink. I’m sure it pleases the local clientele.
Lunch came to a little over 36 euros, which Bill paid for with cash. He could have used a card, too, an option I see is spreading rapidly in Germany. For the longest time, paying with a card wasn’t such a common thing to do here. I guess COVID changed that somewhat.
After lunch, we walked downtown to see if anything was going on. We ended up stopping in a little hole in the wall Fair Trade shop, which offered coffees, teas, condiments, soaps, baby clothes, and wines, all of which came from Fair Trade sources. We bought some coffee, soap, almond butter, wine, and chocolate. How many times have we walked past the Weltladen without noticing? I don’t know, but I will make a point of stopping in again. They have some cute stuff! I love Hofheim, too. It’s a nice town.
Then we completed the loop around Hofheim and took a short rest near the Wine Chalet. For once, we didn’t partake of any wine. We just sat there, enjoyed the change of scenery and lovely cool fall temperatures and colors, as well as a little irreverent graffiti. I feel like I’ve almost missed the fall this year, as worried as I’ve been about Arran.
Speaking of Arran… below is a video of how he and Noyzi welcomed us home…
That chemo is good stuff.
Wednesday, we’re going to Ribeauville, France for our 20th wedding anniversary. Originally, our plan was to stay until November 20 (Sunday). However, we were supposed to see James Taylor in concert in Frankfurt on November 8. He came down with COVID and had to cancel several shows. Poor guy has been stuck in Zurich all week… which is not such a bad place to be stuck. He was able to reschedule Frankfurt for November 19th. So, if the show is still going on next Saturday night, we’re going to come home a day early and see him play. We have second row seats, after all. Not sure that will ever happen again! If he has to cancel again, we’ll stay in France for another night. Either way, we’re paid up, and we have appealing plans.
Sunday afternoon, after our visit to the Lindt Home of Chocolate and rainy drive next to the shore of Lake Zürich, we found ourselves in need of lunch. I had spotted a cute pizzeria on our drive, but parking was a challenge and it was really pouring rain. I was enjoying the misty views of the lake, but the heavy deluge was making us nervous. So instead of continuing around the lake, we decided to head back toward Zürich.
By the time we got back to the city, the rain had stopped and the sun was coming out. As we walked out of the parking garage, I spotted what looked like a promising lunch spot. They were advertising “craft” burgers and beer. I’m generally kind of wary of burgers in Europe, but this place did look like it might be okay– especially given how many people were there. Unfortunately, they were “complete”, so we kept looking. We finally ended up at Restaurant-Boucherie August, a place that was attached to a hotel.
We stopped at Boucherie August because it looked open, and because the lady cleaning off the tables outside was friendly. It smelled good, too. When we walked in, it was about 2:00, and the place was packed. An hour later, when we’d finished, we were the last ones in the dining room. The dining room was all checkerboarded and the tables were close together, but had plexiglass partitions on either side to discourage the spread of germs. The hard chairs were a bit uncomfortable– they were the kind with arm rests that don’t actually allow for resting one’s arms, yet limit the width of the chair. Service was a little slow, but it was friendly enough. We enjoyed our food, too, although I think their Web site is a bit over the top in what people should expect.
Getting to and from the restroom was a little confusing, since we had to go into the hotel area to find it. And then, once we were finished eating, it took awhile before we could find anyone to bring the bill. But we were just looking for something to eat. What we had was enough that we didn’t need anything else for the rest of the day… except, of course, wine. 😉
The sun had just come out…Obligatory shot of Bill after I cracked a filthy joke.Bill had a burger. It was unusual, because it was made with pulled beef, instead of ground beef. I noticed it was loaded with condiments, which made it a bit messy. The fries were good.I had spare ribs, which were pretty decent. Not the best I’ve ever had, but certainly edible. They came with roasted peppers.The outside of the restaurant.I love the painted buildings.The clouds were coming back as we headed back to the car.Oh dear!Spotted in an ornate underpass on the way to our vehicle.A few Swiss ads…Are there really sharks in Switzerland?
As it was our last day in Switzerland, we were ready to wind things down. We rationalized that if we got hungry later, we could just order something from the hotel. Their menu is a bit limited, but offers small plates. I couldn’t see myself wanting more food on Sunday night. We hung out in the pleasant foyer for awhile, enjoying more Swiss wine. I must admit, I had very limited exposure to Swiss wines prior to this trip, but we found several that we enjoyed while we were staying at B2 Boutique Hotel. I definitely saw some ideas for future trips, too, if we’re lucky enough to keep living here. Bill tells me we’ll probably be here at least another year, but we’ll see what happens. As I’ve recently and poignantly learned, there are never any guarantees about the future.
Bill’s work with his Jungian therapist has him thinking about other things he might like to do with his life besides planning military exercises. One thing he has been considering is taking classes at the C.G. Jung Institute in Küsnacht. I think that would be very exciting for him. He’s an unusually empathic person, with a warm, kind, heart and a keen intellect. Jung fascinates him, and that interest was a major reason why we decided to go to Switzerland in the first place. If Bill decides to take any courses, we might be spending more time in Switzerland.
As for me, I was just really happy to get out and travel again. I have really missed going to new places and having things to write about. Last night, I shared a few posts from this series in the Facebook food and wine group I run, since there were a few people in the group who had expressed interest in the hotel. Someone gave me a “laughing” emoji and commented that my “blog is bigger than Switzerland.”
I’m not sure what that woman meant by her comment; but here’s what I assume— which I realize could be a mistake. She might wonder what compels me to write these long posts about my travels, since a lot of people don’t like writing. She might wonder why I would share them, since she probably doesn’t care about what other people do when they travel. Maybe she’s turned off by the name of my blog, which I’ve discovered many people in the military community are.
Here’s a hint, though– I don’t really care if you think my blog title is offensive or bragging. If you take the time to get to know me, you’ll find out why I call my blog(s) The Overeducated Housewife (– I am a housewife with three university degrees, which means I am literally overeducated for my lot in life.If I had known this was what I’d be doing with my life, I would have skipped grad school.) I also don’t really care if you think my decision to share the posts is annoying. I share the posts for the interested. Those who aren’t interested can simply keep scrolling.
What is the biggest reason why I blog?
I mostly blog for ME…
When we lived in Germany the first time, I wasn’t a blogger. I wrote product reviews and articles for content mills. I’m sorry I didn’t blog in those days, if only because I could have kept better access to some of the photos I took back then and some of the stories I took from those experiences. I switched from a PC to iMac in 2011, which made a lot of my photos and videos from that time incompatible with my machine. If I had blogged in those days, I would have curated some of those memories. Sadly, most of the stuff I wrote during our first Germany tour is lost, thanks to Epinions and Associated Content (Yahoo Voices) tanking. I do have some stuff I saved on Facebook, but it’s a fraction of what it could be.
But I also blog for YOU…
I’ve been in Germany this time for seven years, and I’ve gained a lot of experience. I write these posts for people who might find them interesting or useful. I write them for people who are looking for trip ideas or reviews. I have benefited from people who have taken the time to write about their experiences. Their posts have contributed to my memories. So I’m simply trying to repay the favor.
In any case, I realize there will probably be a day when I can’t have these experiences as easily as I can now. So I want to preserve the memories, mainly for myself, but also for those who might find them entertaining. They’re free of charge to read, and maybe some people think that being “free of charge” is about what they’re worth. But to me, these blog posts represent priceless and precious memories. And again, I actually enjoy writing. My mom expresses her creativity through cross stitch and knitting. I hate doing those things. For me, writing and making music are creative pursuits that are truly enjoyable. So that’s why I write these “bigger than Switzerland” blogs. But I realize not everyone likes or appreciates them. I can’t please everybody, and would go crazy trying.
And now, to end this series…
We spent our last night watching Olympic coverage while drinking wine. In the morning, we got up, had our last breakfast, and were delighted to see that someone in the hotel had already brought up our Volvo from the parking garage down the hill. We packed up our stuff and I waited by the car while Bill went to settle our hotel charges. I was afraid we were really going to have an enormous bill– I was thinking maybe 3 or 4 thousand Swiss Francs. But it turned out our bill was only about 2,700, which is still a lot, but it included four nights in a junior suite, one dinner for two, many bottles of Swiss wine, valet parking, and spa for two. Breakfast, Internet access, and minibar were all included with the room. So, overall, I left the B2 Boutique Hotel pretty contented, even about what we spent for our trip.
Our drive home was completely unremarkable. We didn’t even encounter any Staus… nor did we eat anything interesting. We stopped at the “Erotic McDonalds” off the Autobahn near Heidelberg… same place we stopped on the way from Stuttgart to Wiesbaden when we moved up here in late November 2018.
BW sure is pretty! I miss it!Porn at your rest stop…No, the McDonald’s isn’t actually erotic… but you can see erotic stuff if you want to, after you’ve had your Big Mac.
Now… one last detail. I mentioned in my second post that our old dog, Arran, was going to be having a dental. Before we set off on our trip, Bill took him in to the vet to be evaluated and get some antibiotics for tomorrow’s procedure. Well… after we got home, Bill went to get some stuff from the grocery store. I was doing laundry. As I carried clean clothes up from the basement, my eyes landed on what looked like a piece of off white plastic on the floor.
I picked up the strange looking item, which I really thought was something that had broken off something inanimate. A few seconds later, much to my horror, I realized that I was actually holding one of Arran’s “fangs”. It must have snapped off on Thursday, before we took him to the Tierpension Birkenhof. I immediately felt dread. Arran is Bill’s baby, but he’s getting old, and we worry about his health. Last time we took a trip (to Heidelberg in June), Arran injured himself under a bush and had to visit the emergency vet. Seven hours and 800 euros later, he came home with stitches. And now he had a broken tooth.
I immediately started wondering if he’d spent the weekend in agony. I remembered an earlier dog, Flea, had broken a fang when we were here the first time. A couple of weeks later, Flea was diagnosed with prostate cancer, so the tooth never got fixed. We were a lot less acquainted with German vets at that time, plus we moved back to the States. This time, we were somewhat prepared, at least. Arran already had a dental appointment set for tomorrow, and Bill took him in yesterday, just to make sure he’s not in pain. And hopefully, he doesn’t have prostate cancer, too… (which he shouldn’t– I certainly haven’t seen any signs of it). Arran actually seems more chipper than ever, which makes me wonder if that tooth was hurting before it broke. He had tons of energy on his walk yesterday and has no trouble eating. I expect that after he recovers from his dental, he’ll be even spunkier. Maybe he’ll even be nicer to Noyzi. We’ll see.
Well, if you’ve been following along on this blog series, thanks for reading and your patience. I’m through sharing, now. Until next time…
Sunday’s plan included a trip to a brand new, beautiful chocolate museum. I’m referring to the Lindt Home of Chocolate, a gorgeous facility that opened to the public in September 2020. This is the place where chocolate lovers go to pay homage to the sweet delight of a well-known brand. Bill tells me it was my idea to visit. I’m not sure how I heard of it– someone probably alerted me to its presence. We would have discovered it regardless.
Let me just state upfront that I LOVE chocolate, and I like Lindt chocolate very much. It’s not my favorite chocolate, but I certainly won’t turn it down. And if you take the chocolate tour, you can satisfy your sweet tooth. This is a very tasting heavy place that is kid friendly. There are many excellent interactive exhibits, as well as headsets for those who want to learn everything. I did take a headset, but never used it. I prefer to read… and all of the exhibits at the museum have explanations in English and German.
Unlike at the Haus C.G. Jung museum, it’s perfectly fine to take photos at the Lindt museum, although you’re supposed to stow your bags in lockers. I took a lot of pictures, and we left there with a huge bag of chocolate that we’ll be enjoying for awhile. I did notice a sign that forbade strollers, so keep that in mind if you have a small child you’re considering bringing along for a tour.
It sure looks like chocolate heaven to me. This is a huge chocolate fountain.There’s a chocolate cafe. We didn’t visit, because we were chocolated out at the end.Cacao beans.I wasn’t quite tall enough to see through the magnifying glass. This was an exhibit about “no see um” midges that threaten cacao plants.Try your hand at raking.Roots!This was the only exhibit I saw closed. I was curious about what it was. This was pretty cool. The items on the plate lit up at intervals, as did the mug of hot chocolate.The smoke stack lit up on this display.They covered all kinds of aspects of chocolate making, including advertising and milk production… They had some antiques, there too…Including classic wrappers!And chocolate molds.This is probably the most fun part… You get to taste chocolate!They also had milk and dark chocolate.And models of the factory production.At the end, there’s a game for your kids to play!Part of the game.One kid is having some fun with the game.Flavor profiles…Put your hand under the bottom and the machine spits out a piece for you to try and guess what you’re tasting.The “cosmos” chocolate exhibit.Then, at the end, more tasting!There were several different kinds to try!And, if you like, you can get a souvenir photo made. We didn’t bother.Hang on to your ticket. At the end, you can scan it and get ANOTHER piece of chocolate. See the video below.Then comes the gift shop. There are free samples there, too.Vegans aren’t ignored.You could go crazy in here.If you like chocolate, this place is worth a stop! Family tickets are available. At this writing, an individual adult ticket is 10 Swiss Francs.
Cool way to end the tour!
The museum also has special tours and classes available. You can also buy vouchers as gifts for others. Bill said the experience reminded him a little of Swarovski’s Crystal Tour in Wattens, Austria, which I’ve done twice. I agree with him. The Lindt Home of Chocolate is a really cool museum, even with the face masks… and a great representation of the Lindt brand. There’s a huge parking garage at the museum, so you don’t need to worry about parking if you choose to drive.
After we finished at the chocolate museum, we decided to take a drive along the lake, where we promptly ran into a rain storm. I was looking for cute places to have lunch, but it was Sunday, and if you live in certain European countries, you know that means a lot of places are closed. We weren’t that hungry anyway, after all the chocolate we ate in the museum. We were a little afraid of being caught in flooding, as the recent German floods were fresh in our minds. When the rain really started coming down hard, we turned around and drove back into the city, parked in a much less expensive garage, and went looking for lunch.
More on that in the next (and probably last) installment.
The boat arrived at Küsnacht-Heslibach at precisely 1:35pm. Bill and I got off and started the short walk to the Haus C.G. Jung. As we were disembarking, I noticed a little beach right next to the pier. It looked inviting and, indeed, people were swimming and sunning. I noticed a few ladies had brought their playful dogs, which made me miss ours. We could have gotten off at the previous stop, but it would have been a longer walk to the house. The Küsnacht-Heslibach stop is just around the corner from the Jung house.
Before I knew it, we were at the end of the driveway, walking down to the house itself, a stately and unique mansion with well-manicured gardens and a lawn. I noticed there was a swing set there, no doubt for Jung’s descendants, who still call the place home. How nice of them to allow Jung enthusiasts to visit! The house was built in 1908, much of it paid for by the inherited wealth Jung’s wife, Emma Jung-Rauschenbach, brought into the family. They had five children. It seemed like they had it made, especially since Jung was a well-regarded psychiatrist who had studied with Freud, was an artist, and knew several languages.
Well… nobody’s perfect, and that also applies to people like Carl G. Jung. He had an open affair with his assistant and former patient, Toni Wolff. Emma tolerated the affair, and the three seemed to work harmoniously so that Jung could create his science of analytical psychology. I don’t pretend to know a whole lot about Jung– he’s really more Bill’s interest than mine. But as someone who has seen a psychologist and studied social work, I did find the museum very interesting for a lot of reasons. Artists will also enjoy it, since many of Jung’s works are displayed on the first floor, which is the self-guided part of the tour.
Carl Jung was a very unusual person with great vision. His house has a tower that he wanted built. He’d actually hoped the tower would be a library, but that didn’t work out. The tower has stairs instead of books. On the brief guided tour, we did visit Jung’s library and inner sanctum. When we walked inside, I noticed it reeked of tobacco. Our guide said that Jung was a heavy smoker. I thought I smelled whisky, too. It wouldn’t surprise me, although the guide didn’t mention a love of alcohol. I asked her how many languages Jung spoke, since I noticed books in several languages, including English. She said he spoke German, French, English, and had studied Greek and Latin. I was amused to see a book about yoga in the library… our guide said he’d read pretty much every book in the carefully arranged library.
Our group probably consisted of about ten people, all of whom were younger than Bill and I are, and none of whom appeared to be American. One couple was very young– the female half was pretty and had a very beautiful figure, which she showed off with an obscenely short skirt. Or maybe they were actually shorts. I don’t know what they were, although she did distract me when she bent over to look at something and gave me a full on view of her privates. I was really glad she’d worn underwear. The funny thing is, when I saw them approaching, I had a feeling I was going to end up seeing something I shouldn’t. I have some empathy, though. When I was younger, I made some unwise clothing choices, too. And I’ve never had a figure as pretty as hers.
We were supposed to leave our bags and cameras in lockers provided by the museum. A couple of people brought their phones with them, and one lady took forbidden photos inside the museum. A chaperone was quick to admonish her. I thought the way he did it was kind. He said she could keep the image she’d taken, but not to take others. Then, much to my amazement, she asked if she could climb the ladder to the top shelf of books! That request was denied! It is allowed to take photos outside, on the grounds.
The grounds at the museum are very beautiful and peaceful. It was a pleasure to walk around them and take in views of the lake. There’s also a public restroom outside of the house, which came in handy. Below are some photos from our visit. Tickets for adults are 22 Swiss Francs; kids from 0-11 years old can visit free of charge. I think they’re worth the price if you’re into Jung. The tour guide wasn’t the most energetic or entertaining, but she did seem very respectful and knowledgeable about Jung’s life and work. No one tried to stump her, though.
You can see the tower on the approach.Jung had to make some concessions…A swing set. I don’t know if that’s for visitors or family. I noticed a vegetable garden, too.The front door.View of the lake.Backyard…Lovely tree… it’s probably seen a lot.They have a boat, too.The sunroom looks like it was added on.This is a lovely shot from Jung’s house.I guess the upstairs is the family’s sunroom. I saw people up there.Sunken garden.A bee was busily doing work in Jung’s garden.A storm was brewing…Monolith in Jung’s garden.
We walked back to the dock, where we had about half an hour to kill before the boat came back for us. I watched the lake and got lots of video. I was trying to capture lightning on video, but it didn’t work out for me. I did get lots of thunder and plenty of people enjoying the lake, even as the storm approached. I kept hearing the voice in my head from all the lifeguards who demanded that everyone get out of the pool! I was surprised no one was doing that in safety-conscious Switzerland. Below, you can see how I amused myself with my big, fancy, digital camera… I need to play with it some more and learn to take better pictures.
A little of what I was seeing on Saturday.
It started raining as we waited for the boat. At first, it was pleasant and refreshing… but then it started to get heavier. By the time we got on the boat, it was coming down. I was suddenly glad Bill had given me an umbrella, even though I had complained about having something else to carry in my purse. We ended up sitting outside, barely managing to score chairs under an overhang. After a couple of stops, we were able to move into the restaurant, where I had another beer. 😉
While we were outside…Inside, as evidenced by the glare…Lindt Home of Chocolate… where we went on Sunday.
After we got off the boat, we decided to go eat. I was kind of hoping for something interesting, but we ended up at what appeared to be a Swiss beer hall based on the legend of William Tell. Yes, it was very tourist friendly, but I did get to have some surprisingly tasty Swiss style “mac n’ cheese”. Bill had a veal schnitzel… and yes, we drank more beer. The restaurant was called Das Zeughauskeller, and if you walk down the main drag past the Hermes store, it’s doubtful you’ll miss it. Our table was reserved from 6:00pm, which gave us plenty of time to enjoy a sumptuous Swiss meal.
My husband, the goof!This is a popular place. Every table was reserved for dinner.Yummy Swiss mac n’ cheese– vegetarian! It comes with potatoes and caramelized onions. I enjoyed it! I could have gone totally native and paired this with apple sauce.Bill’s veal schnitzel and “rosti” (hash brown) potatoes.Lots of beer.And for dessert, chocolate mousse for me, and vanilla ice cream with whipped cream and hot Hershey’s sauce for Bill.Nice place… kid friendly, too.Another nice scene from downtown.
We made our way back to the hotel– first paying the huge parking fee– where we relaxed and watched Father of the Bride on TV. The TVs at the hotel got all sorts of channels– there was something for everyone! Bill and I enjoyed watching BBC. I also enjoyed the bathtub again. All in all, it was a good day.
We had big plans for Saturday. As I mentioned before, Bill has an interest in the work of Carl G. Jung. His home and museum is located in Küsnacht, which is on Lake Zürich. Jung died in 1961, but his home is still in the hands of his descendants, who live there. Because of that, Carl Jung’s museum is not open every day. In fact, it’s only open on Thursdays and two Saturdays per month during the summer season. We were very fortunate that we happened to be visiting at a time when Jung’s house would be open. Bill purchased our tickets online prior to our visit, thus guaranteeing us a spot on the tour. You can buy tickets on the day of your tour, but only if space allows. The first floor of the exhibit is self-guided, but the library and Jung’s office can only be visited as part of the tour, which is about fifteen minutes long and conducted in German or English or both.
Also on the agenda was a stop at the Fraumünster church in Zürich, home of stained glass windows created by Marc Chagall, a French-Russian artist of Belarusian origin. I’m not a particularly religious person, but I do like visiting European churches and admiring the architecture, windows, and pipe organs. Our friend Meg had suggested seeing Chagall’s windows, as well as a few other places that, sadly, will have to wait until the next visit!
After breakfast, we headed downtown, which was very close to the hotel, but was made more complicated by the construction zone I mentioned in part one of this series. Then, once we got to the city, we had to find parking. Unfortunately, Bill chose to park at a garage owned by an upscale department store, not realizing how very expensive it would be. A whole day’s parking at Jelmoli’s garage cost about 49 Francs! Bill was impressed when the machine spit out a paper to help him remember which level he parked on… well, there’s a price for that kind of service, isn’t there? 😉
Anyway, we were blissfully ignorant of that when we parked and set off toward the church. It was five Swiss Francs to enter the church, but it was fine to take pictures and visit the crypt museum. I liked Chagall’s windows fine, but I actually preferred the other windows, which were made by Augusto Giacometti. The crypt museum was just opened in 2016, having previously been sealed from the public. The pipe organ, which consists of 6959 pipes, is the largest in the entire canton of Zürich. The church itself dates from July 21, 853! Below are some photos from our visit to Fraumünster.
Chagall’s famous windows… We will have to see the ones he did for St. Stephan’s Church in Mainz.The fantastic organ!Outside…Augusto Giacometti’s work…In the crypt museum…The ceiling in the choir.
After we left the Fraumünster, we went to the Grossmünster, which is very close by. On the way there, we ran into a wedding party… actually, there were a bunch of them on Saturday. I saw at least three brides in dresses having pictures taken and quaffing champagne. Augusto Giacometti also made windows for the Grossmünster. Below are some photos from that period between churches.
Cheers to the bride and groom!I saw many, many Orthodox Jewish people over the weekend. Quite a lot of them appeared to be heading for the synagogue on Friday night. These two happened to pass as I was trying to take the next picture.More beautiful windows by Giacometti.And charming women, dressed inappropriately for church…Normally, I’d be up for climbing the tower, but not in a face mask in July. A charming restaurant. It wasn’t open for lunch.The sign reads, “Sorry, there’s nothing for you here, Human.” It’s a pet store.
Once we were finished looking at the windows, it was just after noon. I wanted to eat lunch (and pee), mainly because I have a tendency to get “hangry” when I get hungry, and our tickets were at 2pm, which I figured would put me over the line of hostility. I suggested lunch after our church visits, but Bill looked at his watch and said he was concerned about the time. I reminded him of what I’m like when I’m hungry. Again, he said he was worried about missing our appointment at 2:00.
At that point, he wasn’t sure if we were driving or taking a boat to the museum. I told him to make up his mind. He told me it was my choice. I got pissed off and said, “You’re always trying to lead until it’s time to make a decision. Either lead, or don’t lead. This museum visit is important to YOU, and you’ve done the research, not me.”
So then we headed toward the dock… and I said, “So, hot dogs for lunch, then?”
Bill tried to deny that was what was coming… but when we got to the dock, sure enough, that was what was available. So I made him pose for a photo. The short lake cruise takes about 90 minutes to go round trip, or you can do one way trips or get off at stops. And, for the curious, yes– there are concessions on the boat, and bathrooms. I think Bill paid about 6 Francs per adult for our tickets. It’s a pretty good deal, especially for Switzerland. Below are some photos from our pathetic hot dog lunch and our cruise to Küsnacht.
I almost forgot to mention, while we were waiting for the boat to arrive, we wound up standing near a group of obnoxious young Americans. One was a guy, who looked to be about twenty or so, and there were also three or four young women, who looked to be the same age.
The guy was very obnoxiously smoking a pipe, trying to look cool and failing miserably. I wanted to grab the pipe from him, because it was bad enough we were all standing in line, waiting to board the boat in masks. He had to pollute the air with a pipe, too… and he looked really stupid in the process. And making matters worse was that they were loud, talking about their adventures in Geneva and other areas of Europe. I did agree with one of the young ladies, who said the weather was agreeable. I’m sure that wherever they came from in America, the temperatures were a hell of a lot higher. The pipe smoking guy, though… he was making my temperature rise with temper. What a clueless jackass! I was glad they didn’t follow us to Jung’s house and we didn’t bump into them again.
A flea marketA most unappealing lunch.Hot dogs for lunch, indeed…But at least I got to drink more Swiss beer.We got off at the next stop, which is much quieter and closer to Jung’s house.Where we got off… there were lizards everywhere!The boat and part of my finger.
In part six, I’ll write about our visit to the museum. Stay tuned!
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